September 30th

September 30, 2012

PAWTUCKET â€“ On a night that saw his team score at will against previously undefeated West Warwick, Shea head coach Dino Campopiano decided to throw a little love in the direction of the group that paved the way for the Raider skill players to glide up and down Max Read Field.

September 28th

September 28, 2012

PAWTUCKET â€“ In the eyes of team president Mike Tamburro, the PawSoxâ€™ championship season is a feat that should be shared and celebrated with the public.
Though plans are still being finalized, Tamburro, gave the green light to announce that the Governorsâ€™ Cup trophy will be making the rounds this offseason. Right now the target is to bring the silver hardware to each and every Rhode Island city and town along with neighboring Massachusetts communities.

September 26th

September 26, 2012

CUMBERLAND â€“ Central Falls High head coach Carl Africo doesn't ask former mentor Bobby Marchand to help him out with scouting, but â€“ if he's going to offer â€“ the former isn't about to argue.
Prior to the Warriors' Division I tilt against Cumberland on Wednesday night, Marchand told Africo he had seen the Clippers play at Barrington earlier in the week, and told him that junior striker Kyle Courtney had the speed and ball skills to be a thorn in CF's defensive side.

September 26, 2012

WOONSOCKET â€” In a game featuring two of the Division III-Aâ€™s youngest teams, it was a group of veteran players that helped St. Raphael pick up its first league victory of the season on Wednesday afternoon.
Junior striker Kyanna Ivey-Jones netted a pair of goals, her fifth and sixth of the season, and senior co-captain Lauren Gaj added a goal and an assist to help the Saints post a 3-1 victory over Woonsocket at Barry Field.

September 25th

September 25, 2012

PAWTUCKET â€” After practice on Monday, and before his contest against Shea High late Tuesday afternoon, Tolman High head coach Jack Couto explained to his players why they should be more than pumped up about facing their archrival, especially after the Tigers' move to Division I this past off-season.
â€śI told them I've been here five years now, and we've never beaten them,â€ť Couto stated. â€śI know we've had them in Injury Fund games, non-leaguers, even scrimmages, and they've always dominated. They were much better than we were, and that was it. Facts are facts.

September 25, 2012

PAWTUCKET â€” Aside from exclusively fighting before a few thousand fans at the Twin River Event Center during the past couple of years, Todd Chattelle and Keith Jeffrey had spent the early years of their pro careers mostly fighting in front of hundreds of spectators and sometimes in some strange locations.
They both fought on the stateâ€™s first MMA show on Oct. 31, 2010 at the R.I. Convention Center, but that show has very few quality fights on it and less than a thousand fans filled the 7,500-seat venue.

September 25, 2012

PROVIDENCE â€” The penalties and turnovers hurt. So did an off-night by the offense.
But if there was one thing that really hindered Sheaâ€™s hopes of beating Central on Friday night, it was two long plays in the final quarter by the Knights that resulted in the gameâ€™s touchdowns and the hostsâ€™ first Division II-B victory of the season.

September 23rd

September 23, 2012

WEST WARWICK â€” Football is looked upon as the ultimate team sport. You canâ€™t do your job correctly unless the person lined up next to you does his. Everyone must be on the same page.
Sometimes, though, there are individuals that are so crucial to a teamâ€™s vitality, their influence so great, that you start recalibrating expectations â€“ if Player X isnâ€™t his usual spectacular self, chances are the team will find itself running in quicksand. After all, thereâ€™s a reason why heâ€™s viewed as the straw that stirs the drink.

September 21st

September 22, 2012

PAWTUCKET â€“ The final score may suggest otherwise, but there was a time Friday night when this was Tolmanâ€™s game. In fact, some may argue that the Division I newcomers had perennial power La Salle Academy against the ropes.
In the end, La Salle showed why it figures to remain in the thick of the Super Bowl chase. With quarterback Anthony Francis accounting for four touchdowns, the Rams soared to a 42-20 triumph before a strong gathering at Pariseau Field.

September 20th

September 20, 2012

PAWTUCKET â€” The time-honored tradition of seeing the manager of the Pawtucket Red Sox receive a â€śjob well doneâ€ť seal of approval in the form of a September promotion to Boston remains alive and well. The only difference is that this time, skipper Arnie Beyeler will be joined by a valued member of his coaching staff.

September 20, 2012

One of the more fascinating stat lines stems from how many NFL teams end up qualifying for the playoffs after starting out 0-2.
A blog entry that appeared on the New York Timesâ€™ website earlier this week noted that, since 1990, â€śonly 22 of the 184 teams that started the season 0-2 ultimately made the playoffs.â€ť Referencing back to when the league last expanded in 2002, just 10.1 percent of the 79 teams saddled with a donut and exactly two â€śLâ€™sâ€ť were able to right the ship and achieve postseason status.

September 19th

September 19, 2012

CUMBERLAND â€” Looks like this new Division II thing is suiting Cumberland just fine.
After years of struggling in the Division I ranks and winning no more than five games in each of the last eight seasons, the Clippers are thriving in the stateâ€™s second division and off to their best start in recent memory.

September 18th

September 18, 2012

DURHAM, N.C. â€“ For a team that has enjoyed a champagne bath or two in recent weeks, this was not the ending the Pawtucket Red Sox had in mind.
The International League champion PawSox felt the sting of the Pacific Coast Leagueâ€™s best Tuesday night as Reno romped to the Triple-A National Championship, 10-3, at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Aces jumped all over PawSox starter Nelson Figueroa as the playoff hero was knocked out after just two innings.

September 18, 2012

DURHAM, N.C. â€“ If thereâ€™s anyone who can relate to the coming-out-of-nowhere playoff run that the Pawtucket Red Sox have enjoyed, itâ€™s Rick Burleson.
A former Red Sox and PawSox shortstop, Burleson is presently the hitting coach for the Reno Aces. The 61-year-oldâ€™s presence in the Eastern Time Zone this week conjures up memories pertaining to Pawtucketâ€™s first Governorsâ€™ Cup-producing club in 1973. More than eager to take a stroll down memory lane, Burleson says the â€™73 PawSox possessed future major-league contributors by the bushel.

September 17th

September 18, 2012

DURHAM, N.C. â€” When does a Game One have a Game Seven vibe to it?
The answer: When youâ€™re participating in a single nine-inning affair that will determine the top Triple-A squad of 2012, which is whatâ€™s happening Tuesday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, site of the Triple-A National Championship Game between International League champion Pawtucket and the Reno Aces, the top team from the Pacific Coast League.
Itâ€™s a winner-take-all contest that will serve as the final minor-league baseball game of the season, at any level.

September 18, 2012

DURHAM, N.C. â€“ What images do the Pawtucket Red Sox conjure? For longtime fans, the question could elicit all kinds of responses.
You think of Ben Mondor, Pawtucketâ€™s late owner who would have been in his glory this week, enjoying every moment of the pomp and circumstance leading up to tonightâ€™s Triple-A National Championship.
You also think of beautiful McCoy Stadium, a befitting monument to Mondorâ€™s tireless efforts to build a first-class, fan-friendly ballpark out of the rundown facility he inherited.

September 18, 2012

DURHAM, N.C. â€” The sum of the phrase â€śthe 2012 Pawtucket Red Soxâ€ť is much bigger than the 25-man roster at manager Arnie Beyelerâ€™s disposal for tonightâ€™s Triple-A National Championship at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
With injuries, call-ups, trades and other roster maneuvering, the PawSox needed a proverbial village of ballplayers to get through a challenging season, make the International League playoffs and clinch the Governorsâ€™ Cup.

September 16th

September 16, 2012

CUMBERLAND â€” About two weeks ago, Ed McVeigh received a letter at his Circuit Drive home that he found equal parts fascinating and disturbing.
â€śI was wondering, 'What's up with this?' It was on official Central Falls High School stationary, and I hadn't been there in quite a while,â€ť he said. â€śMy first thought was, 'What'd I do now?!'â€ť